New era begins for National Library

The reopening of the National Library heralds a
new era in connecting New Zealanders with the documentary
heritage of their country, says Internal Affairs Minister
Chris Tremain.

The National Library building on
Molesworth Street was officially reopened by Prime Minister
John Key early this morning.

“The National Library
has undergone an amazing transformation. It’s a state of
the art space which embraces technology – it’s an
exciting and vibrant place to spend time in,” says Mr
Tremain.

“The $65 million refurbishment has taken
three years to complete and has involved extensive
remodelling of the interior as well as a new roof. The
upgrade has also included improving storage conditions for
the preservation of fragile documents and images in the
collections.

“Modernising the building means
visitors can interact with visual representations of New
Zealand’s history. The knowledge and information the
National Library holds is accessible to everyone and I
encourage school groups to include it in their itinerary
when they come to visit the Capital.

“The collection
is an impressive piece of New Zealand’s past. It’s
valued at almost $1 billion and if laid out would span 95
kilometres.

“If people can’t make it into the
building they can easily access the collections through the
newly re-launched library website www.natlib.govt.nz.”

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